America Deserta Revisited

In the 1980s English architecture historian and critic Reyner Banham published his account of the travels and across his adopted home of the United States, Scenes in America Deserta. The critic-cum-tourist revealed the eccentric byways of American culture while assaying its range of natural features. At a point when its national character and international standing were in transitional, if not perilous, condition, America Deserta Revisited documents a journey across the United States in the summer of 2011. Engaging the country by train at a time when petrol is at the centre of debate in the American economy and politics, this series looks for the key urban issues facing a country in flux.

The series was serialised on the Domus website and featured in the New York Times. The set is part of the collections of the National Art Library in London, and the School of Architecture Library at Princeton University.

This is the second edition of the publication, available to buy as a set of four comprising of New York to Baltimore; Baltimore to Chicago; Detroit; and Detroit to Los Angeles.